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Katyusha
* (Liberators-830B, Previously)|citizenship = |occupation_or_professional_title = Agent|current_status = Active, No longer assigned to Liberators-830B|First_appearance = Story: Conversations in Cyberspace}}Katyusha is the codename of a reclusive Soviet Type-III previously assigned to Liberators-830B as part of an ongoing outreach program between the USA and the USSR. History Origins Very little is known of Katyusha's past before they enlisted in the Soviet Airfleet via an artificial proxy in late 2023, with the only hints being found in datamined fragments of reports from Soviet research bureaus, detailing a decades-long study of a metahuman with powers identical to those that Katyusha manifests. It is thus theorized that the study ended, successfully or otherwise, freeing a loyal metahuman to serve in the military, which had been a year previously opened to Type-III individuals. Enlistment and Service The Red Airfleet was still in its infancy at the time that Katyusha joined. While Il-104s had been in service for years, they had previously been considered support units, auxiliary to the main sections of the military. Katyusha's assignment marked a distinct shift from this doctrine. Their ability, limited as it is, to provide rapid transportation of simple materials, allowed a hovering Il-104 with them onboard to instantly resupply units across the entire battlefield. This proved an invaluable advantage during the Sino-Soviet border conflict of 2027, when a single division of the Red Army was able to defend the border from a Chinese incursion with the support of Katyusha and a hovering Il-104. This would prompt a shift in doctrine to the one practiced by the Soviet Armed Forces today, which treats the Il-104 in particular, and the airfleet in general, as a key part of force projection as important as any other branch of the military. During the next two years, Katyusha primarily served as the head of a fast response team designed to be the military's response to metahuman threats. This was partially a propaganda move, to show that the military was fully capable of dealing with Type-III threats through conventional means without resorting to nuclear weapons, and partially a power play, as it also showed that the military was capable of engaging metahumans without the assistance of the TKGB, who had previously been the USSR's only defense against a rampaging metahuman aside from the aforementioned nuclear weapons. During this time Katyusha engaged directly and slew two notable targets, both times relying solely on conventional weaponry to do so, which provided a significant morale boost to the nation as a whole, as it was seen as proof that the Soviet Union did not need to rely on the AECIF for protection. Assignment to L-830B In the information age, news travels quickly, especially when it concerns a Type-III rampage with the potential to cause devastation on a scale not seen in years. Further shocking was the news that an entire Liberators chapter had been annihilated without survivors, as up until that point the Coalition had boasted an impressive track record of successfully dealing with metahuman threats. While this normally would not be a concern for the Soviet Union, as generally something that damages the political standing of the United States elevates their own, it was seen as a major blow to both nations due to them being united in rejecting the 1991 treaty. Thus, less than twenty-four hours after the incident had been resolved the Chair of the Presidium directly contacted the President of the United States to offer whatever assistance the Soviet Union could render, up to and including the deployment of one of their few metahumans that had never served in the TKGB. Service to the Liberators Coalition Katyusha met with her prospective teammates the ULC headquarters, where they were briefed and bore witness to a burgeoning rivalry between L-830A, an elite team being headquartered in the area mainly as a propaganda move from her perspective, and L-830B, the team which she was assigned to and was intended to do the actual job of patrolling the city. Though the rest of the team flew to the city in an outdated C-20 Phoenix, Katyusha chose to take the time to further explore San Francisco and simply portaled to Ekhota Base when the rest of the team was scheduled to arrive. During the first day of patrolling after arriving in the city, Katyusha engaged and neutralized a sizeable amount of gangsters, some of whom belonged to the Skull Crushers anti-feral gang. During the incident, her artificial body was hit by a thrown molotov cocktail and set alight, but only superficial damage was done. Katyusha spent most of her time at the base, using drones to patrol for her while busying herself working on upgrading the cold war era facilities and security systems, though she did help coordinate the police response to the gang war in southside, using her portals to resupply the forces engaging the gangs. Her most important contribution however was the plan that she orchestrated to eliminate the criminal metahuman Bandito, which successfully resulted in his termination, and the uncovering of a conspiracy behind the troubles in southside that went far beyond the city, and possibly even the country. As the Korean war resumed and hostilities reinitialized, she was recalled to her homeland, and participated in the Battle of Pyongyang. At present, she has not returned to L-830, and is still on active duty in the Red Airfleet. Personality While she is at her core a generally kind and compassionate person according to those who have worked with her for a long period of time, Katyusha alternates between two distinctive personalities, one when off duty, and one when on duty. While on duty, Katyusha speaks little, is direct and to the point, and is not afraid to rapidly escalate a situation when she feels that it is necessary. While off duty, however, Katyusha has been known to indulge in her very dry sense of humor, some of which filters into her on duty persona as well, try as she might to suppress it. She also has a rather vindictive temper and a taste for irony, which may override her normally sound judgment at times. Katyusha is fond of orchestral music and keeps a wide variety of it loaded onto the hard drive of her motorcycle for listening to on patrol. This has been seen to include the National Anthem of the USSR, which Katyusha seems to enjoy playing loudly around US army troops. She has been seen avidly playing a certain series of fighting games and has been warned before not to attempt to replicate certain "awesome moves" in combat. Powers and Abilities Powers * Spatial Rend: Localized Portal Creation: '''Katyusha is extremely skilled with her ability to create portals from one location to another, having been seen supporting over a dozen simultaneously with ease. Her powers require an artificial beacon to lock onto if she has not been to a location before, which somewhat limits the utility of the power. The portals created are detrimental to matter that passes through it, with a pronounced effect on living or organic matter, which shows signs of acute degeneration within hours of exposure, similar to lethal radiation poisoning. ** '''Armory of the Proletariat: Undying Relics of the Great Patriotic War: '''Katyusha appears to have access to an extremely large supply of surplus World War II-era weapons and other materials, which she deploys in combat using her portal creation ability. She has been seen using simple modern day devices but has never utilized any magitech whatsoever, and it is believed that her portals cannot transport such advanced devices without destroying them. * '''Soldier's Simulacrum: Artificial Telepresence Unit: '''As for whatever reason Katyusha is unable or unwilling to leave their place of residence in the Russian SFSR, she utilizes an advanced artificial body to interact with the outside world. This body is considerably more advanced than the baseline combat unit currently being phased into service in the Red Army, and represents an impressive step forward in mechanical engineering. Abilities * '''Inference Engine: Advanced Analysis Algorithm: '''Katyusha is capable of rapidly absorbing and analyzing large quantities of information to a degree that nearly qualifies as superhuman. Whether this is her own ability or a side effect of the technology and software that makes up her telepresence unit is unknown. ** '''Enhanced Tactical Awareness: '''Katyusha led a fast response team into battle against overwhelming foes multiple times, and each time proved capable of manipulating the flow of battle to her opponents undoing. She is capable of rapidly analyzing situations and selecting a fitting strategy or tactic so as to achieve her desired goal. Unfortunately, she is not yet capable of conveying this to her subordinates adequately to qualify as a skilled leader, and her tactics almost always cause a significant amount of collateral damage. * '''Constant Vigilance: '''Some call it paranoia, some call it healthy skepticism, and some call it annoying. Katyusha does not take most things at face value, and is constantly trying to discern the true motives of those around her. Sometimes this results in her discovering things she would rather not have known, such as an affair between two of her subordinates. Equipment * '''The "Commie Cycle": '''Katyusha's primary means of conveyance aside from her portals, this futuristic motorcycle appears to have been custom built for the specifications of her telepresence unit, and incorporates a spatial beacon into its design to allow her to use it as an anchor for her portals. It also has powerful speakers for use as a megaphone, and blaring patriotic music. * '''Smith and Wesson M&P: '''Standard semi-automatic pistol sidearm of ULC agents with a magazine capacity of 15 rounds. * '''Taser: '''Sometimes using three or four SVT-40s against a single target is considered "overkill" or "inhumane." For such situations, Katyusha has a been seen using a large supply of tasers to electrocute targets that resist arrest. * '''Hammer and Sickle: While by no means actual weapons suitable for combat, Katyusha possesses such a pair just in case people forget that she is a communist. Relationships Current Allies * Union of Soviet Socialist Republics * United Liberators Coalition (former employer) ** Unified Command *** Anthony Griffins (Temporary superior) ** Liberators-830B *** Tanwyn Angharad *** Camden Kolt *** Kaitiaki *** Charlie Lang (former superior) *** Marcus Tristan *** Norlar *** Siegfried Peters *** Peter Prilv *** Alder Thornwick ** Liberators-830A (In name alone, considers them to be nuisances and showboats at best.) * Union Falls Police Department Current Enemies * Skull Crushers